I went looking for Great Blue Herons today.  I think if I hadn’t learned more about them beforehand, I would have missed the one bird that was there.  Using my binoculars, I scanned the shoreline.  Lo and behold - there it was!  Poor thing looks like it has a damaged wing.

Elegí al halcón Pegrino, un ave poco común en mi departamento Totonicapán, Guatemala, tuve la suerte durante el Global Big Day de encontrar a una pareja de halcones con su pichoncito, pude observar como la hembra procuraba enseñarle a volar. Esta experiencia marcó grandemente mi camino en el avistamiento de aves, ya que hice el primer reporte de la anidación de esta ave en estas coordenadas.

I did my research on the Cassin's Kingbird, who commonly overwinters here in CA. It has a look-alike species, the Western Kingbird, who is beginning to show up here as they arrive for the summer in late March and April. The Cassin's Kingbird nests in Riparian woodlands, where they prefer sycamore trees, and parks and neighborhoods with lots of tall trees, frequently eucalyptus. The Western Kingbird prefers a more open savannah-like habitat with open grasslands and a n occasional tree for nesting. This follows Gloger's Rule: In closely related birds, darker species or subspecies are found in more moist habitats (Cassin's Kingbird), while lighter ones are found in drier ones (Western Kingbird). They are difficult to distinguish except for the dark eye stripe that show up better on Western Kingbird and the white throat that shows up better on Cassin's Kingbird. Western Kingbird also has white outer tail feathers, but they get worn away. However, these two birds have very different vocalizations, which I have not learned yet, because I have not taken the sounds workshop, but I will in January 2024. Meanwhile, I am trying to learn sound on my own. I have already taken three great Bird ID classes through Sea and Sage Audubon Society, but the sounds workshop is offered separately. I used Merlin app to record the bird sounds in a park with tall eucalyptus trees where I have often seen the Cassin's Kingbird. Sure enough, a Cassin's Kingbird showed up on the app, and I saw the bird fly to a high branch on the bare tree, where it likes to perch so it can sally forth to catch flying insects. This bird was calling as it flew in, so I was excited to get a chance to hear it's call. I only had my cellphone with me so the pic is unrecognizable. I am waiting until we discuss cameras in this class to buy a camera. I am excited to take my very first picture on an actual camera. I will post it then.

I chose 2 birds to research as one is uncommon and the other rare.  Last year I had a Red-Breasted Nuthatch arrive for the first time.  He stayed until May.  This year, I have 4!  2 pair.  I love how tiny they are and how they flit around so very fast.  Upside down, right side up - they are quick.  I have learned that they are actually an irruption bird for my location.  Typically they prefer coniferous forests with hemlocks and pines to suburban New England.  I see them go into the hemlocks in my yard when they leave the feeders, but often they will line up, like the Chickadees they usually arrive with, in a dogwood.  I've had fun trying to get good photos of them, and look forward to learning more about altering the settings, as I currently use AutoFocus on Canon Powershot SX70.  They seem to love the peanuts and seed cylinders with sunflower and cherries. I do believe they may return to the forest in other years if pine cones are plentiful. Highlight of the season was a day that I was re-filling the peanuts and all 4 arrived on my feeder pole - seemingly unconcerned with my presence.  The moment was really something.  They are tiny.  The sound they make is repetitive and "nasal" sounding like "eeeen." The second bird is very rare for New England, and arrived on the last day of the Great Back Yard Bird Count, which I have participated in for many years.  After consulting with two naturalist friends, we determined we had a Bullock's Oriole.  E-Bird confirmed thanks to the photos I submitted.  This bird is also a migrator and is not only not breeding right now, but is way off course.  Bullock's are a west coast bird.  She was particularly fond of the cherries that are in my seed cylinders, but also dined on peanuts and plain suet. She remained in the yard for several days, but it's been a week now with now sightings.  She would leave the feeder and I would find her in deciduous trees near the cardinals.  Bullock's orioles like to forage for caterpillars and fruits in the tree canopy - neither of those are yet available here in New England.  I hope she has made a journey to some place better suited.  Beautiful bird. This is my first course and have already learned a lot!  Thank you!    

I chose the Red-Tailed Hawk to research for a couple of reasons: 1) because they're cool and 2) they live very close to my house. I've never seen one in my yard, but I have seen one perched on the light post in front of my house. Last spring/summer, I was lucky enough to witness a juvenile mature over the summer. Once I established that I wouldn't harm or disturb him, he was content to have me around, to take pics, and to draw him. Now, the parents on the other hand, were not. While the hawk was still pretty vulnerable, they would swoop in and "poke" at him until he flew off with them. Never very far though. There are a cluster of trees that the hawks would just fly between. When I went looking for a hawk this morning, I went right to that area of trees. To my disappointment, they were not there; however, a little ways a way, I saw an adult gliding in. I found them perched on a tree, huddled (it's 11 degrees here) down. He was content to let me take pictures, draw him, and just observe him for 10-15minutes. I moved on (another bird caught my eye!), but he remained there. Though I'd had previous experience with this species before, doing the research gives me more specifics about mating patterns, what different flight patterns mean, and so forth, which will be helpful as I try to find some little ones again this spring! 

What a wonderful course!  Thank you, Melissa! I took up nature photography about 4 years ago after I retired.  I wish I had discovered this hobby years ago!  I've been taking online classes, trying to learn as much as I can about nature photography.  I've been focused on landscapes and plants (I'm a Botanist).   Loving birds, I decided to buy a reasonably-priced super telephoto lens try learning bird & wildlife photography.  By the time the lens arrived, I had a broken wrist and couldn't even lift it.  Finally, 3 months later, I was able to give it a try.  These are my 1st attempts at bird photography taken recently.  This led me to signing up for this online class!  I was able to hoist the lens onto my tripod and swivel the tripod trying to photography ducks & geese wintering on the river and be a very safe distance as to not disturb them.  So fun! I think the biggest surprise is truly noticing our very common Canada Geese and how the different groups were so territorial (see bottom photo).  I hear them all the time but I was truly honed in and watching & listening to them intently. I had done research using the All About Birds website to ID the birds and their vocalizations.  This website is truly amazing!! Photos taken with a Canon EOS 6D Mark II and Sigma 15--600 Contemporary Lens. Photos:  Ring-Necked Duck, Common Merganser (either a female or immature male?), and Canada Geese interactions when two different groups merged.

I chose to photograph a Cedar Waxwing because I've never photographed one before and I think are gorgeous. My sighting did surprise me! I found that Cedar Waxwings prefer Cotoneaster shrubs and there's a bunch of those plants not too far from my house. I wanted to catch golden hour too so I hurried over this morning and saw a flock of about 50 Cedar Waxwings right away! In the photo, there are lots of Cotoneasters nearby but this is a tree near the Cotoneasters, I believe. So, I deduced that they are resting in between berry breakfast. I did see them in the Cotoneasters when I first arrived but they never went back. That makes me wonder if they were waiting for me to leave before they would feast again. I will keep that in mind next time. The Cotoneasters themselves are pretty bushy so it was much easier to photograph them in the tree although they were a bit high up. I'd love to catch them in a shrub to be eye to eye with them. They are flocking birds and I saw at least 20 of them in the tree and then at least 50 when they flew off together. Their "seee" sound is magical but I couldn't find out why they make that sound. I did find out that it is common for them to call though, especially in a flock like I saw them.

 

• Great Kiskadee, Isla de Flores, Guatemala. January 2023. Canon Rebel T5 EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III.
• Kiskadees are common but incredibly striking flycatchers where I am currently living in Guatemala. Like many flycatchers, they swoop up from a perch to hunt for food before quickly returning to the same perch or one nearby. As the first photo depicts, they can also hunt for small aquatic animals. My third photo shows the Kiskadee taking off from a telephone wire (a favorite perch) in search of food.
• In my area, they can be easily mistaken for Social Flycatchers or Boat-Billed Flycatchers, but the beak is a distinguishing feature (larger than the Social, smaller than the Boat-Billed) and their distinctive call "Kis-Ka-Dee."
• I have some trouble getting out in areas that are safe to bring my camera, but I knew I wanted to photograph the Kiskadee because it is both a common bird and incredibly striking. I traveled to a more tropical region of the country last week (the Petén region, for those who are familiar) and was able to watch several Kiskadees along the edge of late Petén-Itzá. I walked along the edge of lake for about an hour, observing the Kiskadees as well as other local birds like Great Tailed Grackles, Mangrove Swallows, a Baltimore Oriole and American Coots. The shoreline attracts a fun mix of wading birds, flycatchers, warblers, and swifts!
• Kiskadees also frequently perch on telephone wires outside of my 4th floor apartment, which is a fun angle, but I haven't been successful yet in getting a good picture from my balcony--will add it when I do!

• Female Snowy Owl Resting in Rocky area in middle of open cornfield - Jan 11/23. I spotted her from the side road but she was out of camera reach.
• I cautiously walked slowly into the field on a angle away from her - as I approached she did not move and allowed me to come close enough for a couple of photos as shown above. I then retreated and sat and watched her for awhile. She then flew out of camera range spotted a vole and got it and ate it in the corn stalks. She then flew back to the same spot in the rocks and settled back in. I watched for a little bit longer and then left as she stayed put.
• I was surprised she let me come so close but and she was not really looking at me-seemed rather non-plussed. So I was very happy to get a nice photo and not have disturbed her.
• She was where I thought I might find one habitat wise and time wise.

I've just joined this course and this is my first submission. My nearest birding patch is a public park in the city which contains open grassland, deciduous woodland and areas of scrub. It is not a nature reserve and is used primarily by non-birders for exercising dogs, cycling and other recreational activities such as walking. This presents particular challenges for observing and photographing birds. In the spring, the park attracts small numbers of Common Whitethroat, a warbler which migrates from Sub-Saharan Africa to breed in Europe. Following the COVID lockdown in the UK in March 2020, I made several early morning visits to the park to ascertain where these birds were displaying and what cover I could use to ensure I could get close enough to photograph them with the sun behind me. I attach three images to illustrate different poses and micro-habitats of the Common Whitethroat in the park. The first shows a bird looking for insects among hawthorn blossom. The second image shows a bird foraging for bugs low down in a bramble bush. The yellow area framing the left of the image is blossom of the broom tree. The third image shows a male singing in the open to attract a mate and establish his territory. The photos were taken with a Canon EOS 7D Mark II camera with an EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.

The bird that I love in my area ids the Blue Jay. I learned that their habitat is oak and pine woods, suburban gardens, groves, towns. They will find acorns and bury them in the ground, they also enjoy suet, cracked corn and sunflower seeds at feeders. There are oaks and pines at the edge of our field and happened to catch this jay. Enjoying the course, especially how we all should practice empathy and be ethical in our outings. My camera is a Nikon D500 with a Tamron 150-600mm lens.

I live in an alpine valley at an elevation of 8,000 ft, and I really enjoy taking a break from my work and sitting outside to watch the birds throughout the day. It surprised me to see how comfortable they are with my presence, this is something that was not so common with birds in the city. One of the most incredible little beings I have ever had the pleasure of observing is a male broad-tailed hummingbird that called dominion over a feeder I put out. One of the best sounds is the buzzing of their wings, and I heard a lot of it throughout the day as this one little warrior whipped around the house defending his food source from other hummingbirds. I have often heard of people experiencing large numbers of hummingbirds at their homes, and I was curious how this could be accomplished when there is a very tenacious "bully bird" chasing all the others off. Mind you this was the most adorable bully, and he was very sweet to me. One day I was cleaning up some of the garden beds while my partner was cutting sheet metal in a container, and I caught the hummingbird out of the corner of my eye as he headed over to the container where my partner was. I watched as he hovered in observation, then he abruptly darted in front of the opening and flew inside! My partner stopped sawing, and I could hear the surprise in his voice as he greeted the curious visitor. The bird was inside for a good minute, then it came out to fuel up at the feeder. I became curious about these little jewels, and did some digging to find out more about their habits and potential hazards to be weary of. I wanted this little guy to have the best chance for success, and I also wanted to find a way to welcome more on our property. I experimented with more feeders that were placed a distance apart and some out of sight of one another, and sure enough we started seeing more hummingbirds everyday. There were several females that came around, and our little male put on several displays by flying high up and diving in a "U" shaped fashion through the tree. He was quite the ladies man. It was so incredible to hear all that wing buzzing from the moment the sun begins to rise to the moment it set each day. I set up a GoPro by one of the clusters of feeders and caught some awesome moments and behaviors that helped me understand even more about their social interactions. The rufous hummingbirds showed up later on and were the first to leave. The dominant male broad tailed's have already headed off to their warmer destinations, and the few that remain will be gone any day now. I already miss the sounds, but I have something to really look forward to next spring. Also, the feeder maintenance was no joke. It's a good thing I work from home because that alone was a full time job. I took them down to clean them and refill with fresh nectar every day to every other day, and we had 14 feeders throughout the property. I went a little overboard, but it was so worth it! I caught some beautiful photos, and all I had to do was stand still for a few moments. I wish I had a camera set up on me when I would take the feeders down or put them back up- there were a few males that would literally land on top of my head to see what I was doing. They have no fear, and they figured out pretty quickly that I was the nectar lady and was not a threat. I am so happy to be here and to learn with you all! Your photos are incredible, and I look forward to more!

I have chosen the Australian Wood Duck, sometimes also referred to as Maned Duck (see the crest on the male bird) or Maned Goose. I live just north of Brisbane, Queensland and these ducks are common in the region and a familiar sight around many parks especially anywhere with a lake. These photos are taken in Roma Street Parklands on the edge of Brisbane CBD where I have been observing them for many years, I walk to this park on my work lunch breaks and enjoy looking at these ducks and the other waterbirds that frequent the park. I chose this location because these ducks are grazing there more often than not and provide some great photo opportunities where you can get down on the grass to the birds level. These ducks are often seen on grass (they are vegetarian according to my field guide) and don’t swim as often as other species, and are also often seen in trees. I chose this species because they are easily accessible, easy to photograph and practice on and they are what I call a local favourite i.e. a bird I see almost every week but still love seeing them. Although I think I have a pretty good knowledge of this species as I have seen them countless times over the years, this activity did make me stop and think about the birds’ habitat. They are almost always present in Roma St Parklands which is an inner-city park and although it has big trees the site lacks tree hollows. Australian Wood Ducks need tree hollows to breed (the ducklings jump out of the hollows when ready to leave the nest) and I’ve never noticed any tree hollows in the Parklands, so I am wondering if they do breed elsewhere, although the ebird distribution chart for this site shows that they have been observed year round. I can’t recall ever seeing any ducklings in the Parklands,  but have seen ducklings in the area where I live which is 25km out of the city and has dead trees with suitable hollows. Breeding season in my area doesn’t really seem to follow a pattern, according to my research in the northern part of its’ range the Wood Duck breeds “after rain”. This year has been very wet in South East Queensland and I have seen ducklings in various places in February and again in August and September. In July (our winter) I also noticed a pair at the lake near my house inspecting a tree hollow, and a few weeks later saw some ducklings at the same lake so I have learnt that this kind of "scoping" behaviour is a good sign that breeding may soon occur.

I went to a meadow near our house where I saw some Chinese Pond Herons. Surprisingly they didn't move. I'm wondering if they're standing still to keep the fish from finding them, or if they just don't want to move. I also noticed that their feathers are similar to withered reeds, which should be a camouflage, but it is interesting that when they notice a person, they also choose to run away instead of continuing to camouflage.

I researched about the Black-capped Chickadee. I learned that I should not expect any group photos at the feeder as they take turns eating and that I should look for them in my front yard on my birch tree too, not just in the back by my feeders. My research affirmed that they are bold and curious and my encounters with them as I fill my feeders supports this and make them a cooperative photographic subject. I learned that they have many calls and that the one I always thought was conveying contentment is really an alarm call! Didn't know they played such a sentinel role in sounding the sophisticated alarm of danger at my feeders. 

My family has a humming bird feeder that we set up each year. When I started this course we were in the heat of the migration and had up to 12 hummingbirds at a time fighting over it. As we have set this up every year for a while now so I knew their habits. But it wasn't until I researched the different species that I knew which hummingbird I had in my area.  I set up my tripod on my front porch and just watched them for a while until I found where their favorite perch was. I aimed the camera on the perch and waited for the birds to come. For a while I switched between the feeder and the perch. After a while though I just aimed my camera on the perch and waited. These are the pictures I got.

I chose the Black-crowned Night Heron, as I have seen all summer by a local canal. Although this species is described as more dormant during the day, I was surprised at how close I could (carefully) approach without creating a disturbance. A solitary tree growing horizontally on the canal bank provided wonderful eye-level contact and some opportunity for detailed portraiture-like shots in full daylight.

I recently took a trip with a local Audubon group to a sod farm on the coastal plain of South Carolina. Numerous shore birds stop there on the migration south and this location affords some good looks.  I prepared by studying the behavior and field marks of the birds that could be present.  Just after we arrived we found 3 Long-billed Dowitchers in a puddle.  These medium-sized sandpipers feed by poking their long bills into the mud in a repeated, sewing machine-like fashion.  The early light and reflections set off the rich brown color of the birds.

I went to the local pond in search of mallard ducks or any duck species.   Instead I captured this photo of a mute swan (cygnus olor) landing in the water with a wake behind him.   Mute swans have heavy bodies and short legs.  They are non-native in the US and can displace native species.  They feed in underwater vegetation and have voracious appetites, eating up to 8 lbs of vegetation a day.   They mate for life and can be very aggressive, displaying raised wings to ward off predators.

I decided to try and photograph a Virgina Rail.  I walk daily in an estuarial wetland past large stands of cat-tails, and I have heard their distinctive call several times.  A while ago I  came across a photographer I knew who was doing the thing you aren't supposed to do- playing a recording of a Rail to draw it out.  I found out in my reading they are not only shy, but very territorial, and he succeeded in drawing a bird out just for a second to get his shot. I've had an eventful week since deciding  on a Virigina Rail.  I have been photographing a Great Horned Owl and her fledgeling several times this month.  This owl returns here every year and in June or July will show up with her latest brood.  This year she has only one, and the both have very graciously posed for me.  I think she is very used to excited photographers shooting her every year and is very blasé about it.  Maybe it's part of her training of the young owls to take them out and show them the humans.  At any rate, when I came close to her usual tree, I heard the repeated  alarm calls of a Rail.  There were cat-tails below the alder the owl was sitting on.  I waited a very long time and never saw it, and no doubt because I was there in addition to the owl, he decided silence was best.   While continuing on my way, searching the cat-tails for Rails, I head a call similar to a Rail and  spotted a bright yellow beak, a black mask and a gray head on something  on a muddy bank.  It was very foggy, and not ideal for shooting- I had no idea what it was I took a photo of.    It was a Sora!  I didn't even know what a Sora was.  So cool!  At least it is in the Rail family. Today I went out and heard a Rail call again near to where the Sora was.  I once again searched the cat-tails for the Rail, and at first saw nothing.  Then a Green Heron flew down right in front of me!!  Cool again!  I got some great shots. I guess the take away is, even if you don't find what you are looking for, it's worth looking anyway.  You never know what may show up.

Since I moved here four years ago, I reached some conditions to really enjoy birdwatching and try to improve my photography skills, I know it is a long road to ride. First, I joined to the Ornithologist Association (as an amateur), I began studied about the species according to the different regions in the country, and I began making a personal list of species near my house. As a result of my little research I planted trees and flowers for birds, butterflies and insects. We made a fountain too. Now they are closer and closer, I can recognize some sounds and characteristics. Fortunately where I live is a convergence area of different regions . I took this course because I need developing skills in photography as you said in the introduction. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. I live in Costa Rica, in a district of Alajuela´s Province the name is Atenas (it is known as the best climate in the world!). Let me know if you come some day

I totally agree, it is essential to investigate the biology, ecology and natural history of birds, so we will have a step forward to improve our photographs. I share this photo that I took today (June 02/2022), as part of the follow-up I do to this species in the Bogotá Savanna, Colombia. Best regards!

I did things a bit backwards, and read up about white-fronted terns after observing colonies at a couple of different estuaries in January and March. The colonies consisted of 50-100 birds that were simply hanging out on the sand near the water, with birds flying in and out now and then. At this time of year (Southern Hemisphere late summer, heading into autumn) the terns had already bred but the fledgings were still with their parents. In January I saw parents feeding young - flying in with small fish in their beaks and handing them over to begging young. The hand-off was always very quick and I never managed to photograph it! In March however, I still saw young birds begging but now their parents seemed to be ignoring them. I'm trying to learn how to photograph birds in flight at present, and the terns were a good opportunity to practice this and I felt I had some success. I noticed that they often seemed to extend their wings straight up before taking off, and then took off vertically - not something I've seen before I think. This gave a bit of advance warning that one was about to take off. And in March, I found it helpful to watch the begging young. In time the adult they were begging at would often take off and fly away. Whether this was to get away from the begging chick or fetch it some food, I'm not sure! But it was a good way to guess which bird in the colony might take flight next. The young bird would often fly after the adult too, giving me two opportunities to photograph one in flight. In March I also observed several young terns from another species with the colony. I wasn't able to identify them at the time, but sought advice on identifying them later and was told they were black-fronted terns. They generally seemed to be on the edge of the colony of white-fronted terns rather than in the middle of it, and occasionally seemed to get chased off by the larger white-fronted terns. And now tonight in my reading about them I've learnt that the "white-fronted" refers not to the breast, but to the white band between the black cap and the bill! I hadn't noticed the band before, but it's very clearly visible in my photos, and will help with identification in future. This next picture shows an adult extending its wings straight up in preparation for taking off. A young bird is visible begging to the right.